Mailbag: New Silverado Commercial States Silverado Is “Second To Nobody”… But There’s A Flaw

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This article is part of the GM Authority Mailbag series, where the GM Authority Crew features and replies to your questions, comments, and observations.

The following comes to us from Gabriel O:

I don’t know if you are familiar with the chevy truck ad where the guy is underneath a highway and he gets inside the Silverado to eliminate the noise, then he says “Chevy Silverado delivers a quiet cabin that’s second to nobody in its class… and by nobody, I mean Ram and Ford”.

If you pay close attention, you realize that what’s being said is that Ford and Dodge are number one. When you use this idiom you have to stop at nobody; nobody is nobody, except that the ad concedes that Ford and Dodge are in first and Chevy is in second.

It’s simple grammar, really, and with the budget GM works with, they should use it to hire smart people, especially when they’re on the offensive. This just makes them look stupid.

I have been watching this ad during the playoffs and find it funny. Maybe I should contact Ford to let them know they are being promoted by a competitor… maybe they will use it.

Gabriel presents a rather interesting grammatical situation — and we tip our proverbial hat to him for bringing this up in the first place. Here’s the ad in question:

It’s easy to see what the ad’s authors were going for here, but as Gabriel points out, it doesn’t make much sense. Sure, the phrase “second to nobody” means that whatever is being mentioned is the best, number one… supreme. But when the word “nobody” is defined, as it is in this commercial, to mean Ram and Ford, then the phrase takes on a whole different meaning, which is that the K2XX-based 2014 Silverado’s interior is “second to nobody”, where “nobody” is defined as the brand’s competitors.

In that regard, I agree that the ad copy could have been written in a more clever way. If it were up to me, the spot in question would read:

“Chevy Silverado delivers a quiet cabin that’s second to nobody in its class… especially Ford or Dodge”.

That would communicate the same general message, while actually presenting the competition in a negative light. Perhaps a revision for the ad is in order.

This is true but trivial. I’ve watch this particular commercial many times and never once though of grammar. I’m looking for a truck to help make next weeks payroll next week. I don’t buy trucks because they state the tough, “Ram tough of guts, glory Ram tough !” Or Fords Eco-boost V6 which I still haven’t figured out how they keep the 2 turbo chargers in action and pulling a 4 ton boat up a slight incline ?. I have a supercharged vehicle and the supercharger doesn’t kick in till you doing 2600 RPM and it isn’t on till the engine ‘Boost” isn’t needed anymore. Then it’s back to being regular V6 operation. As opposed to Chevy/GMC VVT V8 6 speed transmission power plant which is always there..

I’m sure it’s a cute advertising ploy, but when you start you engine in the morning there’s no ‘eco-boost’ and there won’t be till you pull, push or load something in the bed that’s heavy enough to cause of the turbo use. and the 3.6 V6 is still a 3.6 V6 where as the Chevy/GMC have 8 cylinders cold start or blazing hot day. They don’t need time to build up or get a sensor trigger that the turbo is needed. It’s V8 all day every day. Fuel economy has a lot to do in this multi billion vehicle age, but a V8 is still power on demand, not power on request.

Even after hearing this commercial several times, the wording made me suspicious , because disclaimers that leave you wondering ~~what is (that) suppose to mean?? are usually hiding something. I took the blatant naming of Ford and Ram as the “nobody’s” meant that the Tundra must be quieter. Why else would The General miss a chance to say their truck is quieter than Toyota’s~unless it’s (not) quieter? Very strangely worded message.

I definitely paid attention…caught it on the first time I heard it. And you don’t have to be an English teacher to catch it. It’s a huge error, and any reputable marketing/advertising agency would pull it immediately UNLESS it is exactly what they intend to say! They are second to Ram and Ford.

I’ve heard some rumbling that the new 2016 Duramax/Allison trucks are having some transmission problems ?? For the life of me I couldn’t understand why that should be ?? I have had three Duramax/Allison trucks and that has never been an issue.. Is this true or are Ford/Dodge people just blowing smoke ??